Kuriositas

Our Feathered Friends

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:04:00 +0000

Image Credit Flickr User Seriykotik1970

I recently came across this marvelous homage to the art of Max Ernst, created by Flickr User Seriykotik1970. You can find a number more at his extremely groovy photostream.

City of Samba

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 17:54:00 +0000

You may not believe your eyes when you watch this. Created by Keith Loutit and Jarbas Agnelli, this is a tilt shift capture of the Rio de Janeiro Carnaval Party. You may have seen tilt shift movies before, but this will really make you sit up! It begins with a panoramic view of the city (including a helicopter rescue from the sea) and then, as night draws in, Carnaval begins.

It may not be quite the same as being there but this film captures the intense excitements as the floats pass by the immense crowds. Yet because of the tilt shift method employed everything looks tiny – you get to be Gulliver for a short time! You also get to see much more of it in five minutes than you normally would, thanks to the stop-motion technique also employed. This is simply dazzling!

Animal Beatbox

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 17:11:00 +0000

I had to include this on Kuriositas but not necessarily because Animal Beatbox breaks new ground in animation or that it will go on to be nominated for an Academy Award. Rather, I wanted to include it because it is so seriously, deliriously silly – and it’s also rather cleverly put together!

It was created by freelance editor Si Bennett, aided and abetted by Adam Merten and Jag Kiranmay. It must have been huge fun to put together though I have to say I probably wouldn’t have the patience to do anything as seamless as this – even if I did have the talent!

Thanks, guys, for a highly enjoyable 47 seconds!

Look What's New on the Fourth Plinth

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:37:00 +0000

The power that art has to divide opinion! The newest addition to the fourth plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square is doing just that: some see a vision of childish innocence (as I did I have to admit) while others see the continuing almost nonchalant victory of the lazy upper classes over the oiks (the rest of us in other words).

Image Credit Flickr User kenjonbro

Whatever your opinion (and of course you will have one) it is a remarkable piece. Perhaps the subject lends itself to lightness but I was astonished to discover that it weighs two tonnes. I suppose it would, being made out of bronze. It is also gold plated – perhaps a nod to one of its sponsors, Louis Vuitton. Since 2005 there have been eight attempts to temporarily fill the empty space, this being the latest. It is certainly monumental – looks can be deceptive: this sculpture stands over four meters in height.

Image Credit Flickr User kenjonbro

The sculpture, by Elmgreen and Dragset is bizarrely titled Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 but is already being called Rocking Horse Boy by many admirers. It was unveiled by AbFab star Joanna Lumley two days ago – with Boris Johnson the Mayor of London already trying to co-opt it as a mascot for the upcoming Summer Olympics in the city (as if it needs any more marketing).

Image Credit Flickr User Streatham Mike

The fourth plinth was vacant for an age – it was originally intended to be the home of a statue of William IV who was to be depicted atop a horse signalling victory. Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 is certainly surrounded by many a warlike statue - it is seen by the artists as a response to its environment.

Image Credit Flickr User kenjonbro

In other words it is something of a critique which might make some people a little cross – yet another pop at British history they might say. Yet it is difficult not to be charmed by the rocking horse boy – blithely spirited as he is. His gilt may not presage a new golden age for Britain (all that glitters...) but he is a pint-sized puck who will cheer up many a passerby.

Image Credit Flickr User kenjonbro

Image Credit
First Image - Flickr User Streatham Mike

The Big Egg Hunt - Featuring Vicky Scott's Egghog!

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:02:00 +0000

You may remember that a year or so ago we featured the artist Vicky Scott (above) and her wonderful artwork. There’s a reminder on the left: click on the picture to see the interview and examples of Vicky’s wonderful work.

Well, you just can’t take your eyes off these artists for a second! Vicky has been involved with an upcoming event in London which promises to be great fun! As Easter is coming it is more than appropriate that the project is all to do with eggs. They may not be chocolate but they are, nevertheless, quite special.

The project is known as the Big Egg Hunt –and you may well have guessed by the name what it entails. A number of artists and celebrities, including Vicky, have been invited to create 209 eggs which will then be cunningly hidden all over central London from 21 February to 3 April. This huge hunt (hopefully the largest stalking of Easter Eggs the world has ever seen) has been organized by the Elephant Family and Action for Children.

Vicky’s design is called Egghog (love it!) and, like the event, pretty much does what it says on the label, as you can see from the pictures! Once the hunt is done the eggs will be auctioned for charity. You can get lots more information from the Big Egg Hunt website – and of course, you do not have to be resident in London to make a bid for the egg of your choice!

Landscape with Duck

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:11:00 +0000

When you are duck and you can’t fly that presents a singular problem when it comes to flying south for the winter. Our hero in this hand drawn animated short by Patrick Neary comes up with some novel ways in which to catch up with his brothers and sisters – not all of them legal!

This ‘toon harkens back to the early days of animation – I swear I recognize some of the characters here but have no clue as to where I may have seen them before. They are most likely new creations but I love the retro feel of the whole animation.

Anyway, rest assured that the exploits of our NBDF (New Best Duck Friend) has a happy ending! Or does it? Watch and find out!

The Unearthly Beauty of Antelope Canyon

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:58:00 +0000

The Navajo call it ‘the place where water runs through rocks’ and that is literally true. One of the most unearthly places on the planet, take a look at the astounding Antelope Canyon.

Image Credit Flickr User Romain Guy

The peculiar formation of a slot canyon can make for an eerie experience and certainly the Antelope Canyon, on the lands of the LeChee people of the Navajo Nation is one of the stranger places you might choose to visit if your budget doesn’t quite run to a space shuttle. The shuttle, though, never lands on alien planets – yet you can still get the experience for very little here on our very own third rock from the sun.

Image Credit Flickr User Franco Caruzzo

Image Credit Flickr User Merlune

One almost expects to turn a corner and run in to a group of Vulcans performing one of their weirder ceremonies. Pointed ears aside, however, this place is very much down to earth and is one of the most visited slot canyons in the world. It is easy to see why. Its out of this world beauty is capable of transforming the visitor, as it were, to another world. Split in two parts, the Upper and Lower canyons have their origins in pre-history. It is little wonder that the Navajo revere them so greatly.

Image credit Flickr User Merlune

Light somehow manages to find a way through the walls of the canyon, despite its narrowness. The color of the rock is a giveaway to those in the know – the walls of the canyon are made of sandstone. And one thing that sandstone is susceptible to is water. The medieval cathedrals of Europe will slowly weather away under the aqueous precipitation of the millennia. So it is with the Antelope Canyon – in fact it owes its existence, in one of the driest places on earth, to the erosive qualities of life sustaining H20.

Image Credit Flickr User Kay Gaensler

Image Credit Flickr User brentbat

With a leap of the imagination, this gorgeous view upwards of twin light tubes allows us to believe we are privy to the blueprints that Mother Nature surreptitiously provides for the continuous evolution of the canyons. The spirals show us where the water has slowly but persistently eroded the sandstone through the ages. Can any man-made structure match the sheer grace of this canyon below the ground?

Image Credit Flickr User James Marvin Phelps

Image Credit Flickr User MeckiMac

So how exactly was this beautiful canyon formed? Although you might hesitate before accepting the fact, for the most part it is due to flash flooding. There are other sub-aerial processes involved as well but rainwater during the monsoon season is the primary culprit (if one were to assign anything like blame for this marvel of nature). There are large basins above both parts of the Antelope Canyon and the rain gathers here until it reaches a kind of critical mass.

Image Credit Flickr User Steve Corey

Image Credit Flickr User James Marvin Phelps

When this happens it gushes in to the canyon. Over the thousands of millennia it took to create the full effect the water slowly but inexorably made the corridors of the canyons deeper and steeper. The hard edges of the rock were inevitably worn down and formed the flowing shapes on the rock face. So it was not the work of mighty and ancient Navajo spirits (perhaps…) but of the sheer tenacious persistence of the elements. Flooding still happens to this day – as recently as 2006 a thirty six hour flood forced the tribal authorities to close the lower part of the canyon for half a year. The sand arising from the erosion gets everywhere.

Image Credit Flickr User Steve Corey

Image Credit Flickr User Brentbat

As can be imagined, this natural phenomenon attracts photographers (and more casual tourists) like bears to honey. However, a permit must be obtained nowadays as it was announced a Navajo Tribal Park in 1997. Although it may for some spoil the picture, as it were, to get an idea of the sheer scale and depth of the canyon it is perhaps a good idea to place someone down there – just to get a sense of perspective.

Image Credit Flickr User Alessandro S Alba

Image Credit Flickr User Brebtbat

Although these pictures belie the fact, photography is pretty difficult to get right here due to the necessarily wide exposure range needed to get the picture right. This is due to the fact that light reflects off the walls of the canyon like a ball on a table tennis board. Ping pong, ping pong. Although I initially hesitated to include a picture with a human presence this does something to give an impression of the sheer scale of the canyon.

Image Credit Flickr User Brentbat

Image Credit Flickr User StuntCrazy

The upper canyon is known by the Navajo as ‘the place where water runs through the rocks’ and the lower as ‘spiral rock arches’. The former is the most visited as its entrance is at ground level, as is its entire length. Thus the tourist does not need to climb – and the famous beams of light are more prevalent in the upper canyon. They can be seen at their best in the summer months when the sun is at its highest in the sky. Between March and October each year the canyon gives the visitor the feeling of being on a beautifully shot Hollywood set – is that Indiana Jones disappearing around the corner?

Image Credit Flickr User pfala

Image Credit Wikimedia

The lower canyon has stairways to facilitate human travel to its base. Even with these aids to the tourist it is a much more difficult proposition than the upper, situated a few kilometers away. It is quite easy to stumble as the footing is never quite even but this should not deter the visitor even though, unsurprisingly, casual visitors are rarer in the lower.

Image Credit Flickr User lurw

Image Credit Flickr User Brentbat

Due to the danger of rain in the monsoon period, visitors are not allowed to visit the canyon on their own – they must take a tour guide with them. Flash floods can happen, well, in a flash and there was a tragedy in 1997 when eleven tourists were killed by a flood. The only survivor, without irony, was the tour guide who had had training in dealing with swift flowing water. As a result of this the stairways were fully bolted in to place and there are even cargo nets at the top of the canyon which can be deployed to ‘catch’ people in the event of a flood.

Image Credit Flickr User Brentbat

Image Credit Flickr User Minuk

So, like so many other things in nature, Antelope Canyon is beautiful but can be deadly too. It remains, however, a superlative example of the inexorable power of nature and a reminder to us that there are many things more powerful on this planet than the human race.

Image Credit Flickr User Dave77459

Image Credit Flickr User lurw

First Image Credit
Image Credit Flickr User lurw

Insert Coin

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:25:00 +0000

Who said that boys have no imagination? Well, here are two who will admit that to the end – boy’s lives are dull, dull, dull. Except, of course, that we can see what they are thinking!

Underestimate the imagination of the boys at your peril - especially if you are taken along for the ride! Yet forbid the moment if you have to insert a coin – boys sometimes need aids.

This is a wonderful animated short, realised by Alisson Thiebaut, Nicolas Garcia Tunon and Louis Beucler. They are or were students at Haute Ecole Albert Jacquard (HEAJ). Remember when you were a boy, gentlemen? Enjoy!

Treasure

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:29:00 +0000

If you were to see this old woman in a junk yard you might think that she was a little mad. After all, she seems to pass over all the objects of use and instead choose things which were broken long ago and have no apparent purpose left to their existence whatsoever. You might even argue that the old lady shares that certain characteristic with her strange booty. Yet there is a method to her madness..

This is quite an adorable animated short, created by Chelsea Bartlett at the Ringling College of Art and Design for her degree thesis. Short and sweet it may be, but it serves as a reminder that perhaps we should never judge a book by its cover.

Helga

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:17:00 +0000

You really do have to be careful what you say – or in some cases what you don’t say, especially if you are on a blind date. Here Ernie, in the pursuit of love and romance, ends up on a blind date.

Yet his date, Helga, is not quite what he expected either (perhaps not quite as advertised you might say – and she can get the wrong end of the stick.

This amusing animated short was created by Justin Sklar for his degree thesis at Ringling College of Art and Design. I am not sure it necessarily has a moral as such, but if there is one it is that opposites can often attract (wait, that’s not a moral!).

The Shard Nears Completion

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 09:26:00 +0000

Twelve years after the idea for this remarkable building was first mooted, The Shard nears completion in London. It dominates the city’s skyline and is by far the tallest building in London (and the European Union), reaching up a staggering 1017 feet. These pictures, all taken in late January and February 2012, show just how The Shard will become an integral part of the London skyline.

Image Credit Flickr User Kenjonbro

Image Credit Flickr User Photo_Robson

If you look closely towards the top of the tower you will see a crane. This is firmly attached to the building’s 55th storey and can slide sleekly upwards to almost the very top. Unsurprisingly this makes it the highest crane in the United Kingdom – and its operator may well qualify as Britain’s bravest crane driver!

Image Credit Flickr User Anthony J Shepherd

Image Credit Flickr User IanVisits

At least he has a cabin – for many of the builders involved in the final touches of the spire – constructed of steel and glass – everyday work involves being exposed to the chilly London weather over a thousand feet above the ground. One can only imagine the triple checking of safety harnesses before they venture out!

Image Credit Flickr User Duncan~

If you think that the weather has been cold enough in London over the last few weeks at ground level, spare a thought for the workers atop The Shard. Temperatures are a few degrees lower at that height and the winds are often so strong that work has to be temporarily suspended for hours at a time.

Image Credit Flickr User Aurelien

Image Credit Flickr User Tesium

The 72nd floor will be home to an observation deck which will afford visitors views of London which until now have only been experienced by those literally in the air – for helicopter or plane passengers. The observation deck will open in February of 2013 and will provide the ‘money shot’ as it were – the view that only a US$ 690M (£435m) tower can deliver!

Image Credit Flickr User Arelien

It must be admitted, it has come a long way in a year. The above was taken in January 2011.

Image Credit Flickr User Photo_Robson

The Shard will house offices up to its 28th floor. Above that there will be three floors of restaurants with a 19 story hotel. Each of the hotel’s 200 rooms will commands the highest nightly rates in the UK capital. As for the ten apartments which will near the top of the tower – whether you think in pounds, euros or dollars then think in the tens of millions before you consider placing a bid for one of them!

Image Credit Flickr User Aurelien

The crowning glory on top of all of this, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, will be the observation floor. Admired and vilified in equal numbers he envisioned, together with the Broadway Malyan firm, a slither of ice, clothed elegantly and entirely in glass. He also drew inspiration from old pictures by Canaletto of the graceful masts of the sailing ships of yesteryear.

Image Credit Flickr User George Rex

Love it or hate it, The Shard (but not its observation floor) will open in May 2012 – just in time for the London 2012 Olympics. Mr Piano is anticipating it will draw in excess of two million visitors each year. If each visitor is charged £20 (and it was the sole source of the building’s income) it would take over ten years to recoup the cost of the construction!

Image Credit Flickr User Pondspider

Image Credit Flickr User Aurelien

Image Credit
First Image - Flickr User George Rex

Ride of Passage

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:45:00 +0000

It seems that in the way back when men used to measure their manliness by the size of the... dead creature on their head. So, when young Toki’s turn comes to go in to the forest and kill the biggest animal he can then he is determined to do just that. However, the jungle can do strange things to a boy and he meets a new friend who gives him the chance to achieve something much greater than anything he expected.

This is yet another marvelous Bachelor Film Project from The Animation Workshop. It was created by Christian Bøving-Andersen, Casper Michelsen, Eva Lee Wallberg, Tina Lykke Thorn, Søren B. Nørbæk, Allan Lønskov, Jakob Kousholt and David F. Otzen. Enjoy!

DreamGiver

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:12:00 +0000

DreamGiver tells the story of the mysterious being who flies around dispensing our dreams to us. Yet even this celestial creature has been known to make mistakes! One evening as he visits an orphanage he gives a little boy a dream which opens up in the wrong place altogether!

This great animated short was at created Brigham Young University's Center for Animation and was directed by Tyler Carter. The film has played in hundreds of festivals around the world including the College Television Awards "Student Emmy", Cannes Film Festival, Anima Mundi, Comic Con, Adobe Design Competition, Angelus Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, SIGGRAPH and many more.

Mr Penn Saves the World Again

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:43:00 +0000

Awesome Air Traffic Control Towers Across the World

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 09:45:00 +0000

Air Traffic Control Tower lovers of the world unite. Here is a selection of ten of the best and more unusual in the world, including the one at Los Angeles above. Whether your own favorite is listed here, these structures have functionality and are designed to fit their own particular environment but also have a strange beauty all their own.

Image Credit Flickr User m-louis

Air Traffic Control Towers are not as ubiquitous as you may think. Most people when asked would say that every airport has one, but this is simply because their height and shape had wormed its way in to the general consciousness, due not least to the plethora of disaster movies centered on airports. It is only the busiest of airports that have towers, such as the one above at Haneda airport which serves the Tokyo metropolis.

Image Credit Flickr User ykanazawa

One control tower may not be enough. Although the bulk of flights are internal, Haneda has more recently been expanding its international flights throughout South East Asia. The Air Traffic Control (ATC) Tower and its peripheral building look like stacks of casino chips, ready to be bet on the roulette wheel.

Image Credit Flickr User HokutoSuisse

The new dwarfs the old. Opened in 2010 it may not look that much bigger than the old one from some angles. Yet this tower does just that - it towers!

Image Credit Flickr User Vairoj

Asia holds the record at the moment for the tallest control tower in the world. While it is by no means the most aesthetically pleasing, the Suwannabhumi airport tower in Thailand has a minimalist look that belies the hive of activity inside. The airport itself, known as the New Bangkok, only opened in 2006 and so it is perhaps expected that such a new facility should boast the biggest in the world. It is an amazing 132.2 meters in height. The ATC system has a primary goal – to keep aircraft in the air (and on the ground) separate and away from each other.

Image Credit Flickr User Longreach

A general feature of air traffic control towers are their height. Although Australia is more renowned for its down to earth humor than its architecture there are many building, such as the Opera House in Sydney Harbor which are famous the world over. Although unlikely to overtake the Opera House in terms of architectural iconography, the air traffic control tower at Sydney airport must come in a close second. Although by no means the highest in the world – or even the top ten – its remarkable shape makes it truly memorable.

Image Credit Flickr User iambents

Although this has no military purpose, many ATC systems have a military defense role, such as in the USA. Surprisingly, if you go to Brazil you will find their entire civilian ATC system run by the military.

Image Credit Flickr User Da Beez

The twists and turns of the Vienna Airport make it unique and so do the laser shows that it often puts on after dark. The airport itself is known locally as Schwechat and in 2005 this new tower replaced the existing one. It has dual functionality – air control staff have their work stations at its base and there are observation areas at the top.

Image Credit Flickr User Mark_Buehler

Image Credit Flickr User Incinerator

The ingenious design won a European Steel Design Award for the innovatory techniques used in its design.

Image Credit Flickr User Kelly v

Orlando airport in Florida has the tallest Control Tower in North America, at 345 feet. If you count the lightning rods at the top then it extends to almost four hundred feet. That is almost twice the height of the old tower.

Image Credit Flickr User bobby.murphy

However, it does mean that AT controllers can now see the whole of the airport and this has already been proven to improve safety. The city of Atlanta ended up paying the lion’s share of the $44 million that it cost. Worth every penny!

Image Credit Wikimedia

Arlanda in Sweden has my vote for one of the most unusual towers. It reminds me of the Egyptian Sand Dance with extended hands at opposing angles to each other. Others see Darth Vader's head - and you can see why!

Image Credit Flickr User valkommen till sverige

Serving Stockhlom, Sweden, Arlanda is the third largest airport in the Nordic countries and Sweden, renowned for design, does not disappoint with its control tower. A majority of Swedish people speak English as well as their own language, which is useful as English is the primary language of air traffic control and, if requested, it must be used according to the rules of the ICAO – the international aviation organization.

Image Credit Flickr User Andres Rueda

Madrid Barajas airport has this wonderful shining example of an ATC tower. It has a rather art-deco feel to it and the jury is always out as to what exactly it resembles the most.

Image Credit Flickr User Andres Rueda

Is it an alien space ship perched precariously on top of some kind of refueling structure? Or is it a slightly squished tugboat coming at you through the air? Whatever your own particular take, it must take a deal of scrubbing to keep its exterior so glistening.

Image Credit FLickr User kingair42

The Los Angeles International ATC tower, although only less than twenty years old, harkens back to the era of the twenties in its design. Its slick and elegant design belies the problems that it had during its design and construction.

Image Credit LAX - First Picture - Flickr User James J Jenkins

It took three building code agencies to confirm that it was ATC worthy. Noted for its controversial design, the tower has proven popular over time and is now seen as a superb example of magnificent high-function engineering and loved for its subtle and artistic design – in a city not usually known for its subtlety.

Image Credit Flickr User dbking

This is the solid ATC tower as many people imagine it and the tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a huge edifice. The airport got the change of name in 1998 (something to which President Clinton agreed, which please some and angered many). Somehow this tower also seems to belong to an older age, but was part of the 1997 construction of terminals B/C which cost twenty five million dollars.

Image Credit Flickr User James_Gordon_Los_Angeles

Baghdad International airport has seen some traffic over the last seven years. It still retains its pre-invasion three letter International Air Transport Association (IATA) airport code, which is SDA. This was as a result of a chap called Saddam naming the airport after himself. Up until recently aircraft taking off would give the ATC guys extra work as they had to adopt what is called a ‘corkscrew’ maneuver to take off and land.

Image Credit Flickr User James_Gordon_Los Angeles

This is a pattern of descending and ascending right above the airport in order to avoid any missiles and other small arms coming at them from the ground. Think of the shape of a corkscrew and shudder – it really is a good description.

Readers' Favorites

Image Credit Flickr User BitsOfReality

Do you have a favorite ATC Tower? Let us know and we will try to post up some great pictures of it! We will start the ball rolling by including this one at Edinburgh in Scotland. The sleekness of the design is quite amazing - and the fact it looks like a giant vase just makes it even better. Let us know your favorite - and the reasons!

First Image Credit Wikimedia

Toi Toi

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:40:00 +0000

They say a boy’s best friend is his dog but the lad in this animation might just disagree! He stumbles in to the workshop of an evil old man and rescues an octopus. Yes, you read that correctly, an octopus! However, that is just the start of their adventures together as the old man is certainly not going to give him his catch without a fight – or a chase for that matter!

Toi Toi (for that is the name of the octopus) is a joint venture by seven recent graduates from The One Academy in Malaysia. Collectively they call themselves the Old Boyz Studio which is a pretty cool name when all is said and done! We look forward to seeing their first feature!

Puppy Love

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:11:00 +0000

I never thought I would say this about a 108 second animation but this just about nails the character of every dog I have ever known!

Don’t expect too much psychoanalysis of the nature of the beast, of course – but take a look and see if you don’t agree! Puppy Love gave me the broadest smile of the day so far!

It was created by Girish Manuel and his team and although short, this is very sweet! I have to admit to holding my breath for a while though. Man in hot dog suit, dog getting excited – perhaps I have a dirty mind but what I thought was going to happen didn’t (fortunately!).

Hendrick's Unusual Month of Reverse Courtship

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:17:00 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, have you realised yet that this is a leap year? If so, then you are probably aware that on the 29th February certain traditional roles can be reversed. In this Unusual Month of Reverse Courtship ladies get to propose marriage (not that this once every four years occasion has stopped many I know!).

As for the gentlemen - you get to be the one to say yes or no, or, alternatively you can start packing now and run for the hills! Hendrick's Gin are determined, whatever your course of action, that things should be done properly! You need to know how things are done – and how you should do them so with this in mind, Hendrick’s Gin is putting on a few tutorial sessions as it were!

The first is the Ladies School of Nuptial Conquest – the name of which speaks for itself really! By attending you will be furnished with all the precious knowledge that you need to hook the man of your dreams. Starting on Monday 20th February at The Lonsdale in London you and a guest will be able to spend a frivolous evening learning all that needs to be known about how to avoid that horrendous disappointment should the fellow turn out to be a scoundrel and say no!

Talking of which, the same venue will be offering Hendrick’s Gin’s very own School for Scoundrels. If you want to avoid some unwanted advances then you should really attend. Extrication is the name of the game and you will be furnished with the method and manner in which to reject without mercy! After all, the 29th of February is a time when women truly do stoop to conquer!

Take a look at this video – it covers just one of the little tricks you may wish to avoid! I could really have done with some advice a few years back when a certain young lady at the office gave me a very unexpected surprise at the water cooler!

In order to get the most out of February 29, get yourself along to the appropriate course at The Lonsdale on February 20. It will be a short course you will always find useful!

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Slow Motion Soda Explosion

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:14:00 +0000

There is a certain poetry (methinks) to that title and so there is too with this long and very languid look at the release of shaken up soda from its bottle.

In fact, put it together with this soundtrack (supplied by Johnny Guitar Watson singing I Want To Ta-Ta You Baby) and you have something which could be considered altogether rather naughty. If you don’t get that go ask your mother: no, second thoughts – don’t.

The short film was made by David Coiffier with a I-Movix Sprintcam Vvs HD at one hundred frames per second.

There is a marvelous depth of field here and before you ask – this is two second’s of fizz, extended gracefully over two minutes.

Cthulhu Valentines

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:45:00 +0000

Image Credit Flickr User Wild Gury Larry

A Star Wars Valentine

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:45:00 +0000

Image Credit Flickr User JD Hancock

Image credit Flickr User JD Hancock

Image Credit Flickr User Kalexanderson

Image Credit Flickr User Johnny Worthington

Lost Love

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:45:00 +0000

Image Credit Flickr User Chris Halderman

The Science -and Silliness - of Kissing

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:44:00 +0000

A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. - Ingrid Bergman

Think about it. If a spaceship full of aliens landed on earth to observe human behavior, how on earth would we explain the act of kissing? One person touches another person with their lips. Not, of course, lips to lips alone. Lips to cheek, lips to neck, lips to – well, just about any other body part can be considered. Imagine the polite but nevertheless obvious squirming with embarrassment that could be involved on either or both sides of the species divide: especially if they landed on Valentine's Day.

Kissing is a means of getting two people so close together that they can't see anything wrong with each other. – Rene Yasenek
An immediate question might be what is the act for? The reply could constitute the making of a list that even the most list-seeking list seeker on the internet might find overlong. Tongue nevertheless in cheek, most people would associate kissing with love and sexual desire and the aliens would probably accept this as part of our self-evidently bizarre mating habits. When this basic question is elaborated upon, however, to include greeting, respect, sympathy, luck giving, affection and, most puzzlingly, false empathy then who would blame our visitors from outer space from turning tail and leaving this planet in a huff?

I am in favor of preserving the French habit of kissing ladies' hands - after all, one must start somewhere. - Sacha Guitry
The origins of the word are old enough – the Old English language gifted the world the word kiss from their own – ‘cyssan’. Origins of the word aside, the reason for this most simple yet complex act to exist is still perplexing philematologists (those who study kissing). They cannot decide whether or not kissing is a learned behavior or if it is instinctive.

A kiss is something you cannot give without taking and cannot take without giving - Author Unknown
Many believe that it is related to grooming and this can be seen between different species on the planet. Due to the willingness of people to anthropomorphize animals and gleefully spread photos of these occurrences on the internet (guilty as charged) then it is easy to fall in to this potential trap. It is just as likely that kissing evolved from mothers chewing food for their infants and then passing it from mouth to mouth. So, perhaps the act of kissing does not have a sexual origin at all.

I wasn't kissing her, I was whispering in her mouth. – Chico Marx
Kissing proper involves the body doing quite a lot of work. Thirty four of the face’s muscles are used in the act as well as a whole host of the body’s postural muscles. The most important of these is your sphincter muscle - we kid you not. Your posture may have just changed when you read the last sentence but allow yourself a second or two to relax your sphincter a little. The body has over forty sphincter muscles and the orbicularis oris muscle (known to friends as the kissing muscle), consists of lots of fibers around the hole that is your mouth all of which have varying directions. If you play a brass instrument you orbicularis oris will be particularly well developed.

Kiss me and you will see how important I am. – Sylvia Plath
Let’s add, for good measure, the tongue. When used in the act, kissing becomes French Kissing, or to use the more basic UK slang available to us, it becomes a damn good snog. This is where the tongue of one or both participants enters the mouth of the other. (The aliens are now, of course, way past Jupiter, leaving us to ramble on our own). While we might not like to be seen to encourage teenagers in this act, many evolutionary biologists believe that there is a real function here.

The first kiss I had was the most disgusting thing in my life. The girl injected about a pound of saliva, into my mouth, and when I walked away I had to spit it all out. – Leonardo DiCaprio
The object of the exercise – as much as prolonged and intense sucking face needs an excuse other than the obvious – is to check out the potential partner’s immune system through the saliva. It could also be used to avoid breeding with a relative. Quite how this is done by the body on an instinctive level remains a mystery but many people have been put off further bodily exploration and penetration by a French kiss with another for reasons upon which they cannot quite put their finger. No need, it seems when the tongue has done it for you.

Kiss and make up - but too much makeup has ruined many a kiss. - Mae West
Of course the kiss is not always a prelude to getting ‘down on it’. Kisses are mostly used to express affection between people - quite often to say hello or goodbye. More often than not the lips will just about touch the cheek of the recipient and sometimes no contact at all will be made. The emergence of the air kiss, a pretense of the act, accompanied by ‘mwah’ as an exhortation (with or without exclamation marks depending on the relationship) could perhaps be an evolution of the act. Or, it could simply be an expression of desire – the desire to keep one’s (overdone) makeup intact.

People who throw kisses are hopelessly lazy. – Bob Hope
The most likely root of the air kiss is the blown or thrown kiss, which is often done to audiences but can be done between just two people where the physical distance between the two prohibits the act itself. Sexuality can be removed from the act altogether when the act of kissing is used to display sympathy or reconciliation with others. It can also be used to offer luck or to celebrate success without any sexual intent whatsoever. Same sex kissing between men who are heterosexual is quite common in many countries.

I married the first man I ever kissed. When I tell this to my children they just about throw up. - Barbara Bush
The kiss is like an iceberg. This article could be seen as the top ten percent peeking above the water. With so much more left to say – and with the aliens just having pushed the warp drive button as they pass by Pluto (saddest of ex-planets) – perhaps you might feel the urge to go and do some practical research. Happy kissing!

Kuriositas would like to thank Juan Felipe Rubio (Flickr User Sicoactiva) for making the wonderful photo collages available under Creative Commons.

Vimeo Festival and Awards - The Submission End Date Cometh

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:04:00 +0000

As you may know, Kuriositas shows videos from Vimeo – lots of them – and pretty much to the exclusion of other video sharing sites.

Why? Simply because it’s a great place to find videos which Kuriositas’ audience will love!

It also serves as a wonderful support network for people involved in the act and art of moving visual creativity. It was originally set up by filmmakers for filmmakers.

Oh, and people like me. To say that I lurk on Vimeo is probably an understatement If you have never visited the site you really should, whether you create or not!

Wiith that in mind, this is a reminder that submissions for this year’s Vimeo Festival and Awards ends next week on Monday 2 February.

There is still time to submit your work, however. For more information, discover more about the awards and to register visit Vimeo right now!

Clearance

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Evans) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:02:00 +0000

There are some jobs in which you can have a bad day, shrug your shoulders and return the next day hoping for something a little better. Other jobs don’t have that luxury, including the one featured in this marvelous animated short, Clearance.

You might have guessed by the accompanying picture that it isn’t anything to do with a sale in your favorite store. This features a group of secret agents - the kind that put the o-oh in to double0. They might be from UNCLE, if early onset was something that a covert organist could collectively develop. One little error and their whole world just falls apart! Thanks to Lee Daniels, a London based animator, illustrator and designer for this (almost) homage to the world of testosterone driven espionage. You almost expect Judy Dench’s M to pop up at the end to say something completely disparaging! Enjoy!